Acts 7: A kingdom not of this world

“Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’  “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.

Acts 7:2-5

“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.

Acts 7:48-49

...Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 7:55-56,59-60

Stephen's speech is another of those well-known, landmark events in the book of Acts.  Following it, a great persecution broke out across Jerusalem - scattering the believers and therefore causing the gospel to be spread further.  But what of that event which set it all off?  What can we say about Stephen's speech?  We could say many things, but there was one theme that struck me today: our inheritance - our home, is not here.

And yet so often Christians act as if it is, feeling shock and dismay if Christianity - our so-called 'National Religion' is not embedded into areas of public and civil life.  Stephen's recap of God's people's history in the Old Testament reminds us that for most of history, God's people were foreigners in a strange land.  We all start enslaved by sin - as the Israelites we enslaved by the Egyptians, but as Christians we may find ourselves in the wilderness awaiting the promised land, or feeling like the exiles in Babylon, scattered and trying to serve God in a society that doesn't.   But today it was Stephen's words about Abraham that struck me.

Stephen says of Abraham:  God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land.   Ultimately we are like the sons and daughters of Abraham - to whom God did not give an inheritance yet.  Except that it is not Abraham who is our father, but Christ.  God fulfilled his promise to Abraham by bringing his people into the promised land, but it is not that promise in which we trust.

When Jesus came to earth, people thought he would restore Israel's political power.  Many still hold similar beliefs today - and I'm not just talking about Christian Zionists.  As I mentioned before, many want Christianity embedded in our laws and legal rights and that all should be compelled by human law to worship God.  Others want to solve all the world's problems - ensuring that justice is brought to all.  Either way, it's about building a kingdom that belongs to this world.  But it's a futile endeavour in a fallen world.  State-sponsored Christianity may have its perks, but it encourages its leadership to care too much about the views of those in power in order to protect their position.  No amount of religious ceremony and show will say anything about the state of the human heart, and we will never solve the problems of inequality, injustice and environmental degradation whilst the sinful human heart rules.

But Jesus says to Pilate 'my kingdom is not of this world' (John 18:36), and when, after he has risen, the disciples ask if he is going to restore Israel's kingdom, he tells them 'not yet'.   Jesus also said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19).

We tend to think of this earthly treasure in terms of our own material wealth, but really it could be applied to anything that will pass away when Jesus returns.  There is no point trying to fix all the world's problems in a world that will pass away and be renewed.  Far better to bring people to Christ, so that they may receive eternal life when he returns.

We should stand up for freedoms that allow us to worship God and spread his word, but know that the word of God will spread regardless.  We should fight for the freedoms of the oppressed, opposing political moves that treat people in a way that is not in accordance with the principles of God's law and their God-given dignity as human beings - because that is living in a way that glorifies God, but we must not put our hope in these things:  we will never accomplish complete justice until Jesus' return.  Finally, we should expect persecution and to feel like foreigners.  Although we are in the world, we are not of it - if we are to fit in with the world we would be like the salt that has lost it's saltiness (Matthew 5:13).

For Stephen, knowing that his inheritance was in Heaven enabled him to die at peace.  He sees God and accepts his death with joy.  If the kingdom of God belongs in this world, then there is little glory in martyrdom and death means that all is lost, but Stephen knew that he was going to be with the Lord, and that there is a great inheritance waiting.